Symptoms of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Author: mzPOTTER
The onset of ALS may be so subtle that often ignore the symptoms. The first symptoms may include twitching, cramping or muscle stiffness, muscle weakness affecting an arm or leg, damaged or nasal speech, or difficulty chewing or swallowing. These widespread complaints then become more obvious weakness or atrophy, which may lead the physician to suspect ALS.
The parts of the body affected by early symptoms of ALS depend on which muscles in the body are damaged first. In some cases, initial symptoms affect one leg and patients experience difficulty walking or running or they realize they face or stumble more often.
At first, some patients see the effects of the disease in a hand or arm when they have difficulty doing simple tasks requiring manual dexterity such as buttoning a shirt, writing, or turn the key in a lock. Other patients experience speech problems.
But what body part is affected first, as the disease progresses, muscle weakness and atrophy spread to other parts of the body. Patients have increasing problems with moving, swallowing (dysphagia) and speaking or forming words (dysarthria). Symptoms of upper motor neurons that are involved include stiff or rigid muscles (spasticity), exaggerated reflexes (hyperreflexia) including an overactive reflex of arched. An abnormal reflex commonly called Babinski sign or reflection of (the big toe extends upward when stimulated in some way the foot) also indicates damage to upper motor neurons. The symptoms of degeneration of lower motor neurons and muscle atrophy include weakness, muscle cramps, and fleeting muscle contractions that can be seen under the skin (fasciculations).
For patients to be diagnosed with ALS, they should have signs and symptoms of damage to the upper and lower motor neurons that can not be attributed to other causes. Although the sequence of emerging symptoms and the rate of disease progression vary from person to person, eventually patients will not stand or walk, lie down or get out of bed alone, or use their hands and arms. Difficulty swallowing and chewing damages the patient’s ability to eat normally and increase the risk of choking. Maintaining weight becomes a problem. Because the disease usually does not affect cognitive abilities, patients are aware of their progressive loss of functions, and may be anxious or depressed. Health professionals should explain the course of the disease and describe available treatments so that patients can make informed decisions in advance.
In later stages of the disease, patients have difficulty breathing because the muscles of the respiratory system weaken. Eventually, patients lose their ability to breathe on their own and depend on a ventilator to survive. Patients may also face a higher risk of pneumonia during later stages of ALS.
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